to learn to sing?

i dont think so, i think there has to be some natural talents there in the first place

I hope so, or my new career's going to be a short one

No, because you can sing already. You must be able to.

So maybe we need a few more specifics to answer your question.

Do you mean to teach someone who's never sung in tune to do so? Or to encourage someone who's never used their vocal chords to make a singing sound at all to do so? Or to teach someone who's intrinsically musical, in their University choir etc. to sound brilliant when they open their mouth?

Cheers

Katyjay

Erm all 3

Are we talking about you learning, Nat? Or someone else you know?

Me obviously

Then I'd say the answer is a definite YES.

No, but actually be able to sing in tune and nicely??

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Most of singing nicely and in tune is about relaxing, and focusing all your energy on the music, rather than listening to the note you're singing. That sounds bizarre, but it works - honest. And having confidence in yourself to sing (which is incredibly difficult to start with - took me about 18 months of singing lessons not to fret about my voice every time I opened my mouth)

Ages ago, I wrote some stuff on here on supporting the voice - I'll have a look for it in a bit. Have a read of it, and maybe experiment with the warm-up exercise. I know it works - I've got 5 pupils doing it.....

Here's the stuff about supporting the voice. It's post no. 82 in the thread.

But if I can't get the notes right and nice in the first place then it is just hopeless

Don't worry about nice for the minute, then. Let's think about getting notes right

How far wrong are you on the notes? Are you several tones off, or are you within the nearest semitone but just not convinced you're spot on? Do people turn round and tell you to shut up in choir or are you more-or-less correct in what you sing?

Absolutely, Nat. And if you have Katyjay smiling at you, and saying things like 'Well done' and 'Fantastic' then you really start to believe you can sing.

My biggest problem is listening to myself - it's what I'm trained to do as a flautist.

I've no idea, I just don't sound nice and I have no idea if I am singing it correctly.

Quite frankly, Nat, if you don't know to the contrary, I'd suspect that you're singing the right stuff. If you weren't, the choir director would make sure you knew about it.

So the issue is how you make your voice sound nicer, if you want to. And that's about support, which is the thing I wrote about before.

The best thing is to relax when you sing, and just enjoy the activity. Don't worry about what you sound like, just get stuck into your choirs and stuff and enjoy it.

Cheers

Katyjay

It occurred to me Nat that as you're singing the alto line it is more difficult to be sure you're "right" than if you're singing the top line. And some of the intervals can be really difficult to pitch, especially if you're unsure that you're on the right note in the 1st place. (Speaking from personal experience here!!). I think the more you do the better/easier/not so scary it becomes.
Katyjay has posted about support & I would completely agree with her. I've been doing a lot in flute lessons recently about support & projection & posture & it seems to have helped with singing enormously as well.

Sing with the support you use whilst playing sax and you should get a belting sound..................oooh look at me sounding like a northerner!!! Belting I say! That's what comes of teaching kids all day and having a boyfriend who are all northern monkeys!!!!!!!!!!!

Indeed. I'm like ya whaaaaat